Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 121

Like many subjects, I have a much easier time rendering drapery when I can see it in front of me. And while I do have a Dr. Doom cloak that has aided me in the past (thanks, maw), sometimes it's just not practical: aside from taking time to wear and photograph, I lack the means (and/or daring) to make it billow in a dramatic way.

My solution was as simple as it was cheap: a nasty ol' paper towel. By roughly cutting out a cape pattern from a single sheet, I was able to create a surprisingly versatile maquette. The material is stiff enough to hold it's shape fairly well, allowing the form to be "sculpted" to suit the task at hand. When I needed a more relaxed look, I just sprayed water on it until the saturation level yielded a naturalistic hang.

For the most part, I drew "from life," so I don't have many photos to compare with the art. The one exception was Tony Stark's sheet, providing him with a modicum of modesty. In this case, I just used the entire paper towel, soaking it fairly thoroughly in some places.

Why didn't I think of this before? Well, for one thing, Marvel doesn't have many "caped crusaders." Throughout 8 years at Marvel, only Magneto, Dr. Doom, and a handful of Avengers gave me the opportunity. But now I'll know what to do if I ever get my hands on Batman and Superman... speaking of which, I think they're coming up pretty soon on my commission list.

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Welcome to The Self-Absorbing Man, a personal blog featuring my artwork and creative process. I post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (if not more). Your comments and questions are welcome on any post, old or new, and I hope you'll become a regular reader. Thanks for visiting.